A third reported rent increases in the past year
Around one in four, or 23%, of tenants have said that that they are struggling to pay their rent, the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) has revealed.
Matt Trevett (pictured), managing director at the DPS, said that the survey results suggested that rent rises were taking place across the country and were clearly affecting moving and non-moving tenants alike.
“As a result, some tenants are making significant lifestyle and financial adjustments to continue renting or secure their next property,” he added. “A significant proportion are telling us that they are reaching the limits of what they can afford, as a result of the combination of higher-than expected rents, food, and energy costs, and are expressing concerns about the future should their rent rise further.”
In its survey of more than 2,000 tenants in England and Wales, the deposit protection provider also found that over half or 51% of the respondents indicated they were worried about not being able to manage their rental payments in the future, with a third or 33% reporting rent increases in the past 12 months and 27% saying they were paying a quarter more each month than the previous year.
Among tenants moving to a new property, the DPS said 62% claimed that they were paying a higher rent than they expected, while 64% stated that they had made financial sacrifices to meet new rental payments.
The survey results have also shown that 30% of respondents who moved property during the last 12 months had to take on extra work or additional jobs to meet rent payments, with 45% of non-movers also saying they have experienced rent increases during the past year.
Of the 47% of tenants who moved last year, 28% gave various reasons for the move, 30% cited the sale of rental property, while 16% reported changed circumstances. Of the 53% of tenants who remained in their properties during the past 12 months, more than a quarter or 27% had wanted to leave but decided not to do so due to high rents (53%) and not finding a suitable property in the area to they wanted to move (21%).
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